In the 17th centruy, when Japan was wracked by wars between rival warlords, the Yakuza protected the people from attacks by wandering bands of fierce samurai warriors. Inevitably, the Yakuza began to exploit the population. Today, they are active in all profitable areas of crime, but these tattooed gangsters are also branching out into many legitimate sectors of the economy.
During the 17th century, Japan went through a period of great change. After a long era of civil war, peace returned to the islands, and the shoguns, or military dictators, began the process of restructuring the state. As a result, the elite samurai warriors lost their influence and their fortunes. Many of them became criminals, raiding villages and cities for food and money.
In ordr to protect themselves, the people then looked towards the non-criminal samurai - traders, craftsmen and labourers. Among them were many sharp minds and potentially strong leaders. These men began to form local defence committees, and these bodies soon earned the respect of the people; they became the 'Robin Hoods' of Japan, and built up an organisation marked by strong hierarchy and many rituals.
The tables turn
It was not long, however, before they began to prey on the people. They extorted money and opened gambling dens where a popular card game, hanafuda, wa played. The worst hand consisted of an eight (ya), a nine (ku) and a three (za). The losers were referred to as yakuza, but in time the meaning of the word changed. It came to be used for the players themselves, or any type of criminal.
From the early 18th century, the defence committees formed increasingly close links with corrupt bureaucrats; the latter made themselves dependent on the owners of gambling dens, who provided them with labourers. A reliable labour supply was vital for the shoguns, who desperately needed workers to carry out their monumental constructin projects.
Despite their criminal activities, the Yakuza have always seen themselves as the guardians of Japan's enduring values, such as loyalty to the emperor. In the 20th century, they began to move into the world of right-wing politics. When US troops occupied Japan after World War II, the American military government took strict measures against the society. But this changed when members of the Yakuza started to express anti-Communist views. The Yakuza did not remain outlawed for long; by the end of 1940s, the American authorities had turned to the Yakuza as allies in the struggle to halt the spread of socialist ideas and trade unions. In the years to come, funds from the Yakuza flowed into the coffers of conservative political parties. According to police information, it is no longer possible to separate Japan's right wing from the Yakuza.
The Yakuza are organised into families, which of course are not based on actual kinship. The oyabun has the final authority, and he takes on the role of father and ruler. From his 'sons', the kobun, he demands unconditional loyalty. In order to become full members, they must pass through a difficult initiation phase, at the end of which they have to take a blood oath at a Shinto shrine. Among their secret signs are the ritual greeting, 'jingi', and the tattooing of the entire body. If a kobun makes a mistake, he cuts off the tip of his little finger and sends it to his oyabun as a sign o penance.
Half-hearted reaction
Officials estimate that there are roughly 900,000 Yakuza in Japan today. The most influential syndicates are the Sumiyoshi-Rengo and the Inagawa-Kai in Tokyo, and the Amaguchi-Gumi in Kobe and Osaka. The illegal traffic in amphetamines provides about half of their illegal income, but the Yakuza do not neglect any area of crime gambling, illegal boomaking, extortion, protitution and trafficking in arms all earn millions for the families. In recent years, they have been involved in property transactions and the stock market.
On March 1, 1992, Japan passed an anti-gang law. The new legislation officially made the Yakuza a criminal society, but certain loopholes mean that investigators may only confiscate the proceeds of drug deals. It is difficult to track down the transactions that the families make between their many front companies. Because the Yakuza now engage in so many legal businesses, mre drastic measures are needed to break their power.
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